Donald Trump to skip attending Kennedy Center Honors

President Donald Drumpf and his wife, First Lady Melania Drumpf have elected not to attend the annual Kennedy Center Honors in December amid a political backlash among those who will be feted at the event. The center seemed relieved by the president's decision, saying in a statement, "We are grateful for the gesture".

Past presidents and first ladies have hosted a White House reception in the hours before the Kennedy Center gala, which they would then watch from seats high above the stage.

A Kennedy Center official said this will be the fourth time a President chose to not attend the event.

Traditionally, the honorees are received at the White House before the event, but Trump has had a fraught relationship with the American art world and this year two of them declined to join in the reception.

The Kennedy Center Honors have always been about prestige, not politics - but this year, as the newest batch of honorees ponder the first such celebration to be held under the Trump administration, several are finding it hard to set politics aside.

Richie was asked if he would attend the event in the wake of Lear's flat-out refusal to appear at the ceremony and Estefan's caveat that she would consider going if President Trump agreed to sit down with her and discuss immigration.

Representatives for the remaining honorees - hip-hop artist LL Cool J, who had not yet said whether he would show up at the White House, and singer Lionel Richie, who described himself as a maybe - did not respond to requests for comment. I'm banking on the goodness and the optimism of people to say: 'You know what?

Richie had said he had not yet decided if he would attend, while Estefan had vowed to go in the hopes of trying to persuade Trump on the value immigrants bring to United States culture, the Postreported.

Share

Related Articles

Although Russian news outlets reported the attack wasn't terror related, ISIS later claimed responsibility for the attack. Regional authorities are assisting the injured, of whom two are in critical conditions, local health authorities said .

Gabriel sustained a serious knee injury in Arsenal's final Premier League game of last season and did not feature in pre-season. Gabriel will join Neto and Nemanja Maksimovic as the new faces hoping to change Valencia's fortunes.

The stock of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (NYSE: FCAU ) has "Underperform" rating given on Friday, April 29 by Bank of America. They are planning to implement this by 2021 and trying to apply the scalable architecture for the self-driving technology.

A senior police officer in the state, Anand Kumar, said close to 20 people had been killed and more than 80 injured. Train accidents are common in India, where more than 22 million passengers use the rail system daily.

Hot Lotto - $9.53 million for Saturday's drawing, with the lottery paying the initial income tax withholding taxes on the jackpot. There was no overall victor in Wednesday night's Powerball drawing , sending the jackpot soaring past $500 million.

Darvish, who is averaging more than a strikeout per inning this season, did not strike out a batter for the first five innings. Stroman allowed two runs and six hits to beat the Rays for the first time in five career meetings at Rogers Centre.

Will fans see their "Daughters of the Dragon" dreams come true? There's a sharp contrast between Iron Fist and Jessica Jones . They are well woven, and this is the primary reason I'm fine with THE DEFENDERS taking a while to bring its leads together.

Lighthizer said the true figure was nearly certainly higher. "We need to be open to make sure we have Plan B, Plan C, Plan D". Neither Trump nor he is "interested in a mere tweaking of a few provisions and a couple of updated chapters".

On Afghanistan strategy, Bannon had previously advocated for replacing US troops with private contractors. The White House has been deliberating for months now about what do with America's longest war in history.

Over the next few weeks, Facebook will start to treat posts that try to fool people in this way differently. They also use static images disguised as videos to trick people into clicking on a low-quality experience.

Right now, it is only possible to capture MewTwo if you are participating in an event at Pokémon GO Stadium in Yokohama, Japan . Now, however, the four Legendaries that players have come to know will be making their way back to the game until #August 31.

Latest news

APC welcomes Buhari, thanks Osinbajo, Nigerians
The president hurriedly returned to Nigeria after pressures from protesters at home expanded to NY and later London. He said this while speaking with state house correspondents after a holding a meeting with the president.

Muguruza ends Pliskova hoodoo to reach final
Elina Svitolina's great year continued as she defeated Caroline Wozniacki 6-4 6-0 to win the Rogers Cup in Toronto. Muguruza next faces world number one Karolina Pliskova , who won back-to-back matches on Friday.

Trump is going after 2 Republican senators
Trump blasted Graham's comments as "a disgusting lie", adding that the "just can't forget his election trouncing". Us President Donald Trump has described fellow Republican, Lindsey Graham as an "attention seeking" lawmaker.

Premier League moves to close transfer window before season
That's why I think if the window is shut before the season starts everything is sorted out and we can get on with the football. Unless other leagues follow, closing the transfer window early could still leave clubs vulnerable to offers from overseas .

Injuries reported after tree falls in Central Park
Amazingly, her children, who range in age from about 2 months to 4 years old, were shaken up but otherwise relatively unharmed. The fearless mother and all three of her boys were hospitalized immediately following the accident but are faring well.

Paul Bettany says he'll return as Vision in Avengers 4
Brie Larson's introduction to the MCU will see Carol Danvers and Nick Fury face off against the shape-shifting alien Skrulls . Which I honestly don't understand because Infinity War and Infinity Gauntlet are a much bigger deal than Black Panther .